The Criege surname comes from the Middle High German word "krieger," meaning " warrior," or "soldier;" and as such it was an occupational name for a mercenary soldier. However, some instances of this name are no doubt derived from the Middle High German word "kriege," which means "obstinate" or "cantankerous." In this case, Criege would have originally been a nickname, which in turn became a hereditary surname when surnames first began to be used.

Early Origins of the Criege family

The surname Criege was first found in Silesia, where the family rose to prominence early in the mediaeval era. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. Individual bearers of this name first mentioned in ancient chronicles include Johann Criec (Chrieger) who lived around 1260.

Early History of the Criege family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Criege research.Another 777 words (56 lines of text) covering the years 1711, 1737, 1701, 1740, 1818, 1743, 1830, 1837, 1683, 1755, 1617, 1681, 1634, 1666, 1649, 1725, 1652 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Criege History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Early Notables of the Criege family (pre 1700)

Notables of the period with the surname Criege were Johan Cornelius Krieger (1683-1755), a Danish architect and landscape architect; Captain Marten Kregier (Cregier) (1617-c.1681), German settler of New Amsterdam from Borcken; and Adam Krieger (1634-1666), an organist at the Leipzig and Dresden courts, who is... Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Criege Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Criege family to the New World and Oceana

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Franz Krieger, who landed in New York City in 1660; Anna Margaretha Krieger, who to America in 1725; Michael Kreeger, who came to Philadelphia in 1738.